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Harkin’s announcement was timed to pop at the start of the Iowa Democrats’ State Central Committee meeting in Des Moines. Democratic leaders had been unsure of the five-term senator’s intentions on running again. There had been widespread belief last year that he would retire, but the Democrats’ strong showing on Election Day - when they picked up two seats when many experts thought they could lose their Senate majority - gave party leaders hope that Harkin, 73, would seek another term. He also had close to $3 million available for a campaign.

“When the current Congress is over, I will have served in the United States House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate for a total of 40 years,” he said in a statement. “After 40 years, I just feel it’s somebody else’s turn.”

Iowa insiders expect Democratic Congressman Bruce Braley to seek the nomination. He has hinted at running for governor, but an open Senate seat presents a much more attractive opportunity and he seems highly likely to get in soon. He would initially be the frontrunner, but other challengers could emerge.

Attention on the Republican side will turn to incumbent congressmen Tom Latham and Steve King, both of whom survived tough challenges last November after redistricting.

From some corners of the establishment, there will be pressure on Latham to run. He’s one of House Speaker John Boehner’s closest personal friends, and whether he thinks Boehner will stay in power for the long-term will certainly color his thinking.

“I can’t imagine a world where Latham the moderate and King the conservative wouldn’t be headed for a crash-course primary,” said a GOP operative with experience on Iowa campaigns. “It’s an interesting convergence of those two worlds … Moderates and moneyed people may not want these conservatives to win, but the reality is the conservative’s going to win.”

King is a tea-party favorite for his vocal opposition to Obamacare. Social conservatives love him for his hard-line activism against abortion. National Republicans worried he would blow last year’s race against Democrat Christie Vilsack, the wife of the U.S. Agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack, with over-the-top comments. But King also got props from them for running a disciplined, on-message campaign — eventually, he won by 8 points.